"Does that cover it or are there more sordid details that you're interested in?"

Tris listened patiently to Luke's story, appreciating his candor. Though at the conclusion of said story, she did venture a comment, not answering his question right away, but she would get to it;
Sounds like an interesting life you've had......though I don't care how good your security system technology is, I'd able able to think of afew people who could get past them."
Her tone was wickedly inviting and there was a twinkle in her eyes.
"And of course while I am happy to learn any new information about potential friends....sordid details and plenty of them are greatly appreciated."

.....it was around this time that Victoria burst into tears, Tris glanced at her in surprise and concern, then at the dark shades that held Luke's eyes, forgetting it would not do much good, in puzzlement and helplessness- how could they help?

"Sounds like an interesting life you've had......though I don't care how good your security system technology is, I'd able able to think of a few people who could get past them. And of course while I am happy to learn any new information about potential friends....sordid details and plenty of them are greatly appreciated."

Luke smiled and even chuckled slightly, appreciating the quick mind that obviously fueled Tris' comments. He was about spoke again when he noticed that Victoria's shoulders were shaking slightly and then suddenly she burst into tears.

"Wha... what did I say?" Luke asked softly and somewhat incredulously as he swiftly thought over what he had just said. There wasn't anything offensive that he could think of but somehow what he had said had triggered something in the young woman.

Reaching across the table with amazing accuracy the blind man gently touched the young woman's shoulders as he tried to think of the right words to say. He had never spent much time around emotional women... the affairs of his life had always involved beautiful women that weren't looking for attachment but just a fun couple of day or weeks.

"Victoria..." He began, his voice trailing off before he finally decided on exactly what to say, "I'm sure you've been through a lot but things will get better... the world is often suspicious and even hateful towards people like us but you've found a couple of friends that can understand and help you get through whatever your facing. Tris can probably understand more than I can of course since she's a woman but... anyway... um..."

Luke was at a loss. He had begun well but then his whole speech had fallen apart. He was at a complete loss when it came to crying young woman so now all he could really do was gently pat her shoulder while desperately trying to think of something else to say.

"And here are your beverages!" The waiter's voice rang out as he walked up before suddenly noticing the crying young woman, "Oh... I'm sorry... um... do you three need anything?" It was obvious that this young man was out of his league as well though he did manage to put the three drinks down on the table and sound like he actually cared.

"Well he gets points on his customer service training but somehow I doubt his untimely arrival has helped the situation." Luke thought to himself.

Victoria heard Luke talking, though she did not comprehend what he was saying. The words washed over and around her, leaving no lasting impression.

It was only as the waiter approached with their drinks that Victoria finally recovered sufficiently to lift her face out of the napkin and look at Tris, her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks damp with tears.

The waiter, having seen someone at another table requiring attention or at least having got that impression, or maybe really wishing they did and convincing himself on that basis that he was needed there, fled the scene.

"I'm sorry." Victoria said with a bit of a snivel, her voice small and childish, sounding more like ten than eighteen. "You must think me very silly."

Her face was a picture of abject misery as she continued to look at Tris. A couple of times her mouth worked as she obviously tried to say something. Eventually she made a start.

"I...." Victoria hiccuped

For a moment she looked like she was going to break down again but she held herself together.

"I...." she hiccuped again. "I lost my...<hic>.. my Mummy and... D..Daddy three... <hic>... m-months ago." She got it out and immediately burst into tears again.

"Victoria..." He began, his voice trailing off before he finally decided on exactly what to say, "I'm sure you've been through a lot but things will get better... the world is often suspicious and even hateful towards people like us but you've found a couple of friends that can understand and help you get through whatever your facing. Tris can probably understand more than I can of course since she's a woman but... anyway... um..."

Luke and the waiter, while having the best of intentions, didn't seem to make much head way with the water works, and it was in fact pointed out that Tris might have better luck.
....Tris however, didn't really have much more of an idea what to do than them.

Victoria focusing on Tris, as if hearing her silent deliberations, ventured a explanation of her misery.

"I'm sorry."You must think me very silly."
"I...." Victoria hiccuped
"I...." she hiccuped again. "I lost my...<hic>.. my Mummy and... D..Daddy three... <hic>... m-months ago." She got it out and immediately burst into tears again.

...ah, that would explain abit.
Tris's expression was empathic, showing her concern;
"Awww hunny."
was all she said, getting up from her chair and squishing herself onto the side of Victoria's- Victoria whom she'd just met afew hours ago Victoria, but when it came to that sort of pain, it didn't matter, and put an arm around the younger girl in an awkwardly balanced hug.

As Victoria straightened slightly Luke took his hand away, a look of helplessness still on his face. "How in the world did I get mixed up in this?" He silently wondered to himself, "By being the nice guy... just like always. I really don't need this kind of complication but there's no way I can just walk away. I would feel like such a jerk."

"I'm sorry."You must think me very silly."
"I...." Victoria hiccuped
"I...." she hiccuped again. "I lost my...<hic>.. my Mummy and... D..Daddy three... <hic>... m-months ago." She got it out and immediately burst into tears again.

And with those words at least a few things suddenly made sense... Victoria had already been through a straining day and to hear Luke speak about his parents and how he had lost them must have brought the pain up all afresh.

"Awww hunny." Tris spoke as she swiftly moved from her seat to give the girl a hug of comfort.

For several moments Luke remained silent... what was there to say after all? Because of how young he had been when he lost his Dad the grief had been dealt with a long time ago. Plus the fact that he had never even met his mother, there was no way for him to truly understand what Victoria was feeling.

"I know that things must look hopeless to you right now." He finally spoke softly, dredging up the long forgotten memories of how he had felt after his father's death, "You feel sad and angry all at the same time. Questions run through your mind demanding you at least try to find an answer even when another part of you knows that there is no answer. The only things I can say is that it does get easier... you never forget but as the raw shock begins to discipate you can concentrate on the happy memories that are left as well as the new friendships and relationships that have come into your life since then. It's not easy... don't let anyone even begin to say that it's easy but it will get better."

Luke didn't know what else to say and so he leaned back in his chair and reached out to gently touch his glass of Sweet Tea before grabbing it firmly and bringing it to his lips. The combination of sweet and bitter flavors was always a pleasure on the mouth and for a moment he focused on this enjoyment, trying to withdraw slightly from the sadness that was beginning to invade their time together.

"Awww hunny."

Victoria blinked in surprise at the warmth in Tris' tone. When Tris went and sat next to her, Victoria's initial reaction was to shy away from the contact but the arm was around her too quickly and with the touch her resistance melted and she sank against her new friend.

Victoria looked at Luke and managed a wan smile in response to his kind sentiment. There was comfort in the fact that, although alone for the past three months, having no siblinigs, other relations or friends, she seemed to have found two nice people who seemed to genuinely care. Slowly she pulled herself together, patting her face dry with the napkin.

But it seriously was not Victoria's day. Fair to say, it was not a certain waiter's day either. It was not their waiter, but another one, clearing the plates from a table near by who was having a bad day. It was a table of six and rather ambitiously, the waiter had decided to remove all the plates, a heavy set and the side plates as well.

It was not a good decision.

He was okay for the first part, backing away from the table but as he began to turn, as small change in the centre of gravity caused a plate to start sliding. Before he could get it under control it had slipped out. In trying to control it, the poor waiter only made the situation worse. In horror he watched the whole pile heading on a collision course with the ground.

SMASH.

There was a abruptly cut off squawk from what had been a thoroughly unhappy girl and was now an expanding cloud of particles.

For a moment the sweater and skirt expanded as Victoria sublimed and then a rapidly expanding stream of particles issued out from the openings in the garments before they abruptly collapsed in on themselves. The skirt slipped onto the floor and for a moment it looked like the sweater would follow, but it hung on the seat.

Fortunately most of the cloud slid down under the table. Although about ten times the volume Victoria normally occupied, the cloud was small enough to be contained mainly beneath the table.

Victoria, although at first unsure, quickly accepted the hug Tris was one handedly giving, even leaning into her and taking the comfort the contact was ment to provide.

And Luke too was doing his part, making a fine speech more eloquent and empathic than any Tris thought she could met out. And it looked as if things was getting better, Victoria was slowly calming down, and they could order wine and more wine and talk and help this new acquaintance feel better, but then......

It really didn't seem to be Victoria's day.
Tris didn't see what happened, but there was a sudden CRASH and a half cut off squawk that might have been made by a startled bird.

There was also a sudden and noticeable lack of Victoria- for Tris the lack was especially acute as she had happened to be leaning against the girl, still giving her that one armed hug, when the girl in question abruptly disappeared in a cloud of Victoria particles. Since Tris's supporting post was now no longer there, her center of balance was rather noticeable off for the moment.

The end result of which concluded in Tris, not having time to regain said balance, fell through where Victoria used to be, off the chair and onto the fall with a bump that would leave a bruise and a low, complaining, and definitely embarrassed;
"Owwww."

She sat up slowly, massaging her right hip on which she had fallen, eying the semi cloud like form slowly collasing under the table;
"Aww man."
she muttered.

Things were beginning to look up... the Sweet Tea was excellent with just enough sugar and strength of flavor and Victoria was beginning to calm down. Maybe the three of them would get to enjoy their meal after all. If only...

It was right then that the stupid waiter tried to do something that no human being should attempt... as he failed and the dishes rained down with a loud SMASH, it was all over. Suddenly Victoria was gone and Tris was falling through where Victoria had once been, making her own loud crash onto the floor.

WIth the passive sonar reading Luke had been getting there was no way he could find Victoria but as soon as she dissapeared he went active, putting a lot of power into this small area immediately... there was a lot of dust and debris but no Victoria unless... was that cloud slowly drifting down under the table Victoria?

"Oh my... she does go to pieces." Luke thought to himself in astonishment. Quickly feeling around the table Luke realized that there was no table cloth to hide her from sight once she rematerialized, quite naked under the table.

"Just what the poor girl needs! More embaressment!" It was time to act but Luke wasn't sure what he could do. Scanning the room around him very quickly the only think that appeared to have any size was the aprons that the waiters were wearing. "Whatever works."

Sliding out of his seat quickly Luke slipped over to the waiter that was now desperately trying to clean up all the broken dishes and undid the bow that was tied on the back of his apron.

"Hey!" The waiter suddenly called out as his apron fell to the floor, "What are you doing?!"

"I have to borrow it... you can have it back in just a couple of minutes." Luke replied without looking back as he moved back to his table. The apron didn't quite cover all the way to the floor, or the whole length of the table but it did at least cover some of the space. Spreading out the apron and holding it in place Luke stood there, doing his best to look as natural as possible.

"Um... Tris... do you think you can slide Victoria's clothes to her?"

It took a little longer than the first occasion that day, a little shorter than the second, there being no fan to blow her away, for Victoria to coalesce, leaving her naked and shivering on the cold hard floor.

Consciousness returned more slowly than either of the previous two occasions, cognisance even more slowly. For a few moments she lay there with her eyes closed, tears leaking out the corners. Victoria didn't want to open her eyes, didn't want to know what embarrasing situation she was now in. She knew, however, that it was only delaying the inevitable and potentially increasing the ultimate

It was with considerable relief that she realised that she had ended up underneath the table. There was something odd about the view but it took a little while for Victoria to realise that it was an apron and that it was being held there specifically to provide her with some concealment. It was not a surprise to her when she realised that it was Luke that was holding the apron.

Victoria looked around and for a moment she could not see her clothes. Then she spied the sweater on the seat of the chair and having retrieved it she pulled it on noting that it was long enough to cover her, though it left her legs completely bare. For an awful moment she thought she might have to make do but then she found the skirt on the floor underneath her, a little dustier, a little dirtier but it was still intact. Victoria wriggled into it, careful not to disturb the chairs or the apron.

Dressed, Victoria crawled out from under the table and stood up, brushed her clothes down and looked at Luke. She was a sight, her clothes were somewhat untidy, her hair looked like she had been dragged backwards through several hedges and her face was blotchy from the tears and strained with dust from the floor. There hadn't been a lot of dust, very little in fact, but Victoria seemed to have found most of it.

"Thank you, Luke. Again." She gazed at him miserably, "You seem to be having to rescue me a lot today." She wanted to hug him, feel his arms around her but, remembering his earlier response to her chaste kiss she held back.

It was only then that she looked around for Tris.

Around the time Luke addressed Tris about Victoria's clothes, Victoria herself was solid, animated, and able to frantically grab and put on her own clothes without Tris's assistance. Tris was alittle glad that she wasn't needed, as her slightly bruised self made it up and back to her chair, where she promptly sat down heavily.

The again bedraggled Victoria appeared from under the table, thanking Luke for his chivalrous aid in a miserable voice.

Tris, while feeling pity for the poor girl, was also feeling the bruise that was spreading along her thigh from where she'd abruptly landed on the floor earlier- this unfortunately may have made her alittle less sensitive about the subject than she may otherwise have been.
She was starting at Victoria with a seriously serious expression when Victoria met her eye.
Tris sighed, and in a voice pitched low enough for only the 3 of them to hear (Luke was trustworthy at this particular time, after all, he was Victoria's apron hero and still hadn't spooked after all this);
"This is getting ridiculous- we have got to get you some training."
there may have been just a touch of exasperation in her voice, or is could have have been imagination.

(OOC: Sorry bout the lack of detail, big essay is trying to hurt me, so I have to hide till it goes away , lol)

As Victoria popped back up and out Luke took the apron and folded it slightly, tossing it back over to the waiter he had procurred it from.

"Thank you, Luke. Again. You seem to be having to rescue me a lot today." Victoria spoke up in a rather pathetic and very sad voice.

"This is getting ridiculous- we have got to get you some training." Tris spoke up in a soft voice for just the two of them to hear as she picked herself up off of the floor.

"I'm glad that I've been able to help you Victoria but I have to agree with Tris... you need some kind of training and control in an environment where you don't keep getting startled like this." The blind man spoke softly as he slipped back into his seat. "And I'm going to assume that since you said something about it Tris, you either know how to train her or know someplace she can go."

There was no way Luke could even begin to offer anyone training of any type... he had good control of his powers but that didn't exactly take a whole lot, or at least he didn't think that it did. He'd been using the sonar since he was a boy but there was always the nagging question in his mind whether there was more to the power than he had never accessed. "I might even need training but that's not something I would admit out loud." He thought wryly to himself, "I have to be the confident experienced one."

((OOC - Wanders in and starts laying into the essay with a large, heavy baseball bat....

"Naughty, naughty essay! No hurting Tris!")))



"This is getting ridiculous- we have got to get you some training."

Victoria was about to respond to Tris when Luke chimed in, supporting Tris' suggestion.

Victoria didn't respond immediately, instead she drifted to the seat and sat down, feeling hungry, thirsty and quite exhausted. Fortunately only a small amount of time had passed and teh tea, still in its pot was still hot. Victoria poured herself a cup and sipped it, wondering if she should put some sugar in it, not for the taste but for the energy. After a moment's hesitation she decided against it, hoping instead that the food would turn up soon.

"Training?" Victoria queried finally. "I didn't know I could get training. But, isn't there like a cure or something?" To Victoria it was nothing more than a curse, something unpleasant that she wished would just go away so that she could get on with her life.

"I'm glad that I've been able to help you Victoria but I have to agree with Tris... you need some kind of training and control in an environment where you don't keep getting startled like this." The blind man spoke softly as he slipped back into his seat. "And I'm going to assume that since you said something about it Tris, you either know how to train her or know someplace she can go."

Luke had backed Tris up on the training thing, and of course again phrasing the situation more delicately then she had.
But his last assumption had her chuckling, as living and associating for so long only with mutant or mutant related folk, it was interesting to note not all talented folk (and both Luke with whom she had her suspicions and Victoria seemed to fall into this category somewhat) in the city had gravitated to some mutant related existence- just Tris's egocentric mind acting up again.
She commented a dry;
"I might just know some people that could help."
was her concession, but she wouldn't give any more away with Luke there than she had to, not till he spilled the beans about himself.


"Training?" Victoria queried finally. "I didn't know I could get training. But, isn't there like a cure or something?"

Thinking about the chivalrous but mysterious Luke, Victoria;s comment caught Tris alittle off guard, her longing for a cure dangerously close in a temperamental Tris's mind to the allusions that not wanting a cure to this was freakyish and wrong- and freak was a word she just couldn't stand, so stung she might have been alittle sharper in her reply than planned;
"This isn;t something you can cure, its the way your made- wanting a cure is just running away from the issue.....training is where you learn to control the extra talents you have instead of pulling stupid little stunts that get you noticed like today."

She rounded on Luke again, to continue her rant on another person;
"And you.......you seem highly unsurprised by this turn of events and hanging out with mutant types.......anything you care to share."

Luke raised an eyebrow in surprise as Tris apparently came close to her snapping or breaking point for some reason. "Surprised by the turn of events? No... once I found out about Victoria's first incident this morning it wasn't really a big surprise to me that it happened again." The man's voice was soft but firm. Reaching over he took another sip of his iced tea before setting the glass down and replying to Tris' last statement/accusation.

"As to hanging out with mutant types... I've never really done much of it. While's it's true that I'm a mutant myself I've always blended in with society so well that I have never really had to hide or run from humanity as a general rule. I mean, who in their right mind would be afraid of a blind man?"

Reaching out with his sonar, Luke made sure that the waiter wasn't headed their way at that exact moment. Assured that it was safe he proceeded to reveal the secret of his abilities.

"And I know you've been wondering so yes... I am completely blind, at least visually." Reaching up, Luke took off his sunglasses and then folded them, sliding them into the breast pocket of his shirt. Looking out at the two girls, completely unseeing were the two orbs that had a color bridging between white and blue. The cloudiness of the eyes made it difficult to determine the exact color but there was at least a little bit of a blue tint to them. "My mutation took my vision when I was born but it replaced it with a sonar sense that manifested itself when I was about sixteen. On the upside I can sense things all around me... not just in front of them. The down side... I can't tell the difference between faces unless I'm extremely close and I can never appreciate anything flat... like art."

It was quite obvious from his voice that Luke was not looking for pitty and he didn't feel sorry for himself he was telling it like it was.

"This isn't something you can cure, its the way your made- wanting a cure is just running away from the issue.....training is where you learn to control the extra talents you have instead of pulling stupid little stunts that get you noticed like today."

"Stupid?" Victoria thought, cut to the bone by the comment. "Stunt? I couldn't
help it!"

She couldn't help feeling upset about it either. It brought back memories of school, last attended eight or nine years earlier. She had suffered at the hands of the other children because of her curse and it had got so bad her parents had had no option but to take her out of school and tutor her at home.

Not for the first time that day she started crying, though it was quietly this time, the tears rolling silently down her cheeks. She wanted them to stop but they wouldn't. All she could do was sip her tea which was now cooling rapidly, partly as a consequence of the tears falling into the cup.

She didn't hear what Tris said to Luke or Luke's response, being wrapped up in her own misery.


"Folks hopin' you'd turn out cool
But they had to take you outta school
You're a little touched you know, Angie, Baby